Fertility Concerns

A healthy man produces an estimated 400,000,000,000 sperm in the course of his lifetime, each with a maturity time of approximately ten to twelve weeks, each of which will survive only about one month.

Sperm cells start to lose quality at around age 40. Nevertheless, the fertility rate of men even up to age 50 remains fairly constant.

When it comes to male fertility, crucial parameters that must be examined are semen volume, sperm concentration, morphology (or physical form) of the sperm, and sperm motility, which is measured by the percentage of actively moving sperm cells. Disorders of sperm production, called spermatogenesis, are not the only causes of infertility that can be favorably improved by nutritional supplements. Often, the transport in the seminal passages is the decisive factor.

Studies have proven that these measurable characteristics of sperm health reflect, in principle, a man’s level of nutrition, his choice of beverages, and other lifestyle factors such as daily stress load. When it comes to sperm health, test results tend to be worse in those who are markedly overweight, in smokers, and in those who engage in heavy alcohol consumption.

Besides a healthy diet and lifestyle, one general, well-known recommendation for maintaining healthy sperm is to protect the scrotum against excessive heat. The scrotum, which consists of a skin bag that encloses the testicles, and the epididymis, with vas deferens and spermatic cord, is particularly sensitive to heat because of its plethora of free nerve endings.

To promote conception, it’s important to maintain a positive lifestyle, because negative habits can affect fertility.

Secondary infertility probably occurs more frequently than primary infertility, and is often experienced more dramatically.

Approximately 10 percent of women have trouble to get pregnant a second time. Afflicted couples delay treatment or perhaps even feel that “things just aren’t meant to be.”

It is possible that with the first delivery, a fallopian tube became blocked, or that the couple just no longer has sex quite as frequently. Also, a woman’s weight gain after the first child can be to blame. Fat cells tend to store hormone-like, inflammation-promoting substances in the body.

30 to 40 percent of women of advanced age live with an overproduction of male hormones (as determined by blood test), and one effect is the population of the ovaries with non-developed eggs (PCOS, as determined by ultrasonic diagnosis). An amassment of non-developed eggs is also often observed in cases of diabetes and insulin resistance.

In men, testicular damage or an unfavorable lifestyle since the first pregnancy can significantly lower sperm quality.

As men age, they also experience numerous breaks in their DNA strands. This means that older men have a greater chance of producing children with genetic issues.

A man’s sperm cells contribute the majority of the genes responsible for neurological development, with a much smaller contribution coming from the woman’s egg. While a newborn child invariably exhibits approximately 15 genetic mutations on the maternal side independent of the mother’s age, it carries twice as many from a twenty-year-old father, and as many as 65 times as many from a forty-year old father – a number which continues to rise in relation to the father’s age.

Older men with a desire to have children must also contend with a gradual decrease in testosterone, the primary chemical messenger for healthy energy, sex drive and sexuality. Testosterone deficiency promotes the accumulation of fat cells, the loss of muscle mass, and the frequency of kidney problems.

To a considerable degree, sperm cells consist of fat molecules, and are therefore particularly prone to attack by aggressive free radicals. Men with increased exposure to oxidative stress have a low sperm count and more damaged sperm.

An especially high number of these “reactive oxygen species” (ROS) are evident in the semen of infertile men.

Lifestyle factors such as taking medications, lack of sleep, and exposure to chemical pollutants and environmental poisons further increase the number of ROS while also decreasing the protective anti-oxidative capacity of the body. Oxidative stress will only occur if you are exposed to or ingesting more toxins than your liver can handle and not consuming enough of the nutrients your body needs to balance itself.

The best defense strategy are antioxidants, which are mainly contained in fresh fruits and vegetables and help to reduce free radicals. As a result, you battle oxidative stress on two fronts. First, antioxidants act directly on free radicals in many cases, neutralizing them by supplying that missing electron and preventing damage. Second, they help to build healthy cells in all your body’s systems and boost your body’s filtration and detoxification systems—kidneys, liver and skin.

It has been said that “fertility is all in your head…”

And not only when it comes to a female orgasm. In a study where the emotional demeanor of patients was significantly improved by “clown doctors”, the success rate of IVF treatment increased from 20 to 36 percent!

Scientists are sure of one thing: joyful arousal during sex affects how many sperm cells are ejaculated by the man. In fact, even the quality of the female orgasm supports fertilization.   Hence the idea that passionate sex and pleasure in bed positively contribute to fertility and are factors that should not be underestimated.

To ensure successful conception, the right timing is crucial. After ovulation, the woman’s egg is fertilized up to 24 hours, sperm, however, have a survival time of up to five days.

Sexual intercourse should therefore take place two days before and one day after ovulation. However, a perfect cycle and the absence of any abnormalities are not a guarantee that everything runs as desired. Many women cannot immediately achieve a pregnancy on their own, because there are too many negative factors interfering with this complex development process.

Even when pregnancy is achieved, it is subject to a host of different biological influences. Eleven to twelve percent of expectant mothers fight with difficult problems during pregnancy, or fear an unwanted miscarriage.

This state of so-called “impaired fertility” is clearly age-dependent. Only half as many women age 24 or younger are bothered by these concerns as those between ages 24 and 44.